UCAR 2040, A NOVEL WEAR RESISTANT COATING FOR AIRCRAFT STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS

Recently, Union Carbide Coatings Service Corporation developed a new detonation gun, and from it, a new generation of wear resistant coatings. This new gun, the Super D-Gun, was designed to obtain ultrahigh particle velocities. Consequently, it produces coatings with performance characteristics previously unattainable. These new coatings, the UCAR(R) 2000 Series, offer an improved resistance to wear with little or no effect on the fatigue performance of the component substrate. One Super D-Gun coating in particular, UCAR 2040, was designed specifically for these fatigue sensitive components in the aircraft industry that also require a superior resistance to wear. The effect of UCAR 2040 on the fatigue performance of the substrate was evaluated for four different alloys - Ti-6-4, Ti-8-1-1, 4340 steel and 7075-T73 aluminum. UCAR 2040 has only a minimal effect on the fatigue performance of the titanium alloys, and no effect or even a positive effect on the fatigue performance of the steel and aluminum alloys.